title: Opportunistic testing: the death of informed consent?
abstract: This Article focuses on one aspect of prenatal diagnosis: noninvasive prenatal diagnosis, particularly the detection of Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome) through a simple test of maternal blood. Although I discuss issues salient to this particular test, I place it in the context of "opportunistic" testing generally. It is my view that opportunistic testing presents the most serious challenge to patient autonomy we are facing in the twenty-first century. In this Article, I will explain what I mean by opportunistic testing and consider three different examples of how it threatens informed consent: (1) Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) screening, (2) newborn screening, and (3) prenatal diagnosis of maternal blood tests for fetal anomalies.
authors.affiliation: Lehigh University, USA.
authors.forename: Dena S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D030342:Genetic Diseases, Inborn / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D015997:Neonatal Screening; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen